Never Look Back
by lifeofla-silverwolf
Summary: Co-authored by Seta Kaede. See prologue, Don't Look Back. Reposted. It is not the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning. After "Shadow Dance"
1. Something we've never known

* * *

-Authors' notes- 

Silverwolf & Life-of-L.A.: Egads, the first chapter of the new continuation is finally up! Again, we would like to remind all readers that the lovely Seta Kaede is working with us on this one. Let us begin with the obvious statement that writing after Seta Kaede's fabulous prologue was not easy. That said, you can all hear our excuses at the lateness of the first chapter. We originally meant to have it done by last weekend, you see. As you may have read from our two other recent updates, Silverwolf and Life-of-L.A. have been overwhelmed with excess work in the horror that is school. Life-of-L.A. is back in school, and in addition to coping with the anguish that plagues all 'damn-I'm-back-in-school-what-the-hell-happened-to-vacation' students, she has been busy organizing her club's event for her school's annual festival. And she also went to an animation convention, so she spent a weekend with that. Silverwolf meanwhile has spent the entire past week on college visits. The fact that she has not yet returned to school does not stop school from intruding on her life, it seems. Painful, yes, but it is reality. That said, we'll pass the baton to Seta Kaede, with apologies for a late chapter.

Seta Kaede: WOW!!! The girls have really outdone themselves with this chapter and I must say that I am more then impressed. While it may have taken a little time, which I can completely understand since the same thing will soon be happening to me, this chapter is not only lengthy but also incredible! I only hope I can live up to expectations with the next chapter; sadly it will most likely not be as long as this one since I am only one person while they are two. Again, let me say how thrilled I am to be writing this story with two such wonderful authors, the two of them are excellent and their stories and creativity continue to impress me. What will happen in the next chapter is still in the air and the three of us will be discussing it. Hopefully it will be posted sooner rather then later, but who knows? I can't wait to hear what everyone thinks so please remember to review for us, pretty please with sugar on top!!!

Review Responses (From Seta Kaede):

DemonRogue13: Thank you so much for the review; hearing the wonderful praise made me blush ever so happily, please keep reading and reviewing!

Kapparan Majic: We apologize for the late Freddy's death (holds a moment of silence) but it was vitally necessary to the plot so please enjoy!

LadyEvils: Again let us observe a moment of silence for Fred….and yes to both questions, both Wanda and the X-men will eventually appear in the story. We are Lance fans as well so we hope you keep reading!

Lily Handle: Sorry about the lateness of the update, but blame it all on Life-of-LA and Silverwolf! I hope you keep enjoying the story, so please keep sending us the reviews!

Meltdownbabe: Thank you for the review, I hope you keep sending them because we always love to get them! Please keep reading and tell us what you think!

pixie stix addict: That review made me so happy, I love it when people gush over stories, it always gives me a happy feeling, please keep sending them!

SithelfJen: Thank you for the review and please keep reading and sending them!

Skye: Thank you for the effusive review and I hope you will continue reading our lovely story, please stay tuned!

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**Chapter 1. Something we've never known.**

"It's all right."

Lance drew the quivering figure closer to him, his arm wrapped tightly around the younger teen's thin frame.  
"Tabby and Pietro will be back soon, it's okay. Are you cold?"

Getting a faint nod in response, Lance quickly took off his overcoat and placed it over the shoulders of the shivering boy. Even if the action had been acknowledged and the fact that Lance was beginning to shiver registered in Todd's mind, he was too worn out to protest.

Lance took another look around to the opening of the alley, hoping that Tabitha and Pietro had not run into any trouble. With a soft breath, he let Todd lean further into him and readjusted the duster to better cover him.  
"Don't worry..."

* * *

"Ignore them, 'Tro," Tabitha murmured as she picked up a pastel green sweatshirt and a white turtleneck. 

"Sorry," Pietro apologized as he turned away from the side-ways glare. "Me molestaron. Nos miran como si seamos basura..." he muttered quietly.

"Sé. They annoy me too," Tabitha replied, gently taking the other's hand for a moment. "But just ignore them; we can't afford to get any attention."

"Yeah, I know." Noting that the other had an armload of clothes, Pietro motioned to the garments he was carrying. "I have all of the stuff for Lance and me; did you get everything Todd and you need?"

Tabitha nodded, heading over to the cash register. "All done. Todd and Lance must be tired, waiting; let's finish fast."

"When am I not fast?" Pietro gave her a grin, but it was short lived, and he quickly turned to the register and put the load down.

Watching him for a moment, Tabitha let out a quiet sigh, but she too moved over to the counter and placed her things next to Pietro's pile.

Wordlessly they waited as the employee packed the things in a bag, Tabitha handing some money over as Pietro took the bag. They left as silently as they had entered, though they still received wary looks from all around, and the general population of the store was glad to see them go.

* * *

_I wonder if I'm early? Man, Nicolas better not be late, or we'll be late for class together! I can't believe his printer died on him the night before our presentation is due! We have the worst luck._

_Hm, it looks like it's about to rain. And on the one day I forget my umbrella. Damn weather forecasts; they're never right._

_Oh man, I'm definitely going to be late for work... I'll blame it on traffic; they don't know my car is at the mechanic's for repairs. I need my morning coffee._

_Is today her birthday? Or is it tomorrow? What is the date today, anyhow? I hope it's tomorrow, because otherwise I'm going to have to hit the mall later. What should I get her?_

_Damn all this traffic. Maybe I should've just taken the bus. Walking would be faster than this!_

Lance grimaced as some of the stronger thoughts around him broke into his mind with blaring headlights.  
'Please... just let me have nothing... it's better than all this...'

Eyes closed tightly, he mentally sighed, not wanting to upset the teen in his arms by being vocal in his discomfort. With a deep breath, he focused on making them go away, and fortunately, he was able to after a minute or two. Luck had been on his side, or at least mercy, this time in the least.

Opening his eyes once more he noted with alarm that Todd wasn't moving, but let the tension go when he realized that the tired boy had merely fallen asleep.

Moving his arms so that he could draw the coat closer around the youngest of his family, Lance looked over at the entrance of the alley, wondering if Pietro and Tabitha had indeed, run across interference. But his worry subsided as the two walked into view a moment later, the first with a bag, which Lance presumed to be of clothes.

* * *

The two sixteen year olds nodded as Lance motioned to Todd, indicating that their youngest brother was asleep. But they had already known, by the silent welcome they had gotten from the brunette, rather than a verbal one from both. 

"We got the clothes," Pietro held up the bag, speaking softly lest he wake the boy.

"So we just need to figure out what we're going to do for shelter tonight," Tabitha added, her voice equally cautious in nature.

Lance nodded. "How much money do we have left?"

The only sister of the group shrugged. "I don't know. Let me check," fishing out the three wallets they had pick-pocketed, she counted up the change. "Twenty-three dollars, seventy-one cents."

"I can go get-"

"It's all right Pietro. I'll go later," Lance assured, not wanting the obviously sleepy teen to be even more tired. "I think we're going to have to check into that motel we saw earlier. Weather's not looking too good."

Sitting down next to the two, not at all bothered by the dirt, Pietro looked up at the sky, his expression creasing in concentration. After a moment he nodded. "Yeah, it's going to rain... maybe a storm... around late afternoon. Or early evening... I'm not sure."

"Don't worry about it, Pietro," Tabitha sat down next to the white-haired teen. None of them wanted to wake Todd up, so they would wait while he slept.

"...How is he?" Pietro asked after a moment.

"He's tired," Lance sighed. "So are you guys. Did you get anything to eat?"

"You're tired too," Tabitha replied as she pulled Pietro near, having him lean on her.

"And no, we didn't eat yet," Pietro added after her, letting her put an arm around him.

They sat there for a while, just leaning against each other in silence.

* * *

Pietro woke with a start, sweating and drawing in sharp, panicked breathes. Eyes wide open; he searched around before noticing the hand on his shoulder, and hearing the comforting voice.  
"Shh Pietro, it's all right." 

Relaxing immediately, Pietro leaned into the arm around him, his panting slowing down.

"I'm here," Lance spoke softly and quietly, unobtrusive but supportive.

"I had a..."

"I know," Lance wiped the sweat beads off the white-haired boy's forehead. "I know."

"It was locked... I couldn't get out... I couldn't find you, or Tabby, or Todd, or..."

Something passed the brunette's face, both knowing the last name that would have followed. But he just nodded, his hand reaching out to hold Pietro's.  
"I know... but it's all right. It was just a bad dream. It's all right."

It wasn't much comfort at all, Lance knew. It was a bad dream. But unlike most other cases, he couldn't say it wasn't real. All he could do was reassure the teen that they were with him.  
"...Do you want me to try to make them go away?"

"No," Pietro quickly turned to face Lance directly. "It's all right. You don't have to."

"I will if you want me to," Lance repeated, deep brown eyes calm.

"I'll be okay," Pietro insisted. Changing the topic, he looked at the youngest of the fou... three brothers. "Has he been sleeping all this time?"

"Yeah. You weren't asleep that long. Tabby went to get some food a little after you fell asleep. She should be back soon."

"What time is it?"

"I'm not sure. But I think you've been sleeping for about an hour. It should be around eleven."

"I shouldn't have dozed off," Pietro murmured, pulling his jacket closer around him.

"No, I'm glad you got some rest," Lance paused, turning to look over at the entry way once more.

Tensing up, Pietro too directed his gaze down the alley to the opening.  
"Is it Tabby?"

After a second, Lance relaxed, nodding. Pietro slumped back, taking a moment to pull the jacket that had shifted with their movements back securely around Todd.

Sure enough, a figure walked through the small passageway, where morning light streamed in, halfway down the path. Just outside the reach of the rays, Lance and Pietro could still clearly see that it was indeed their sister.

"Sorry I took so long, but I got us a duffel bag for all of our clothes. Nights are still cold and all, so we should keep them, just in case," Tabitha explained, holding up the good-sized black duffel bag. She frowned at seeing their slight shivers, worry marring her face. "We'd best get going. Lance, can you carry Todd?"

"Yeah; Pietro, get that bag, will you?" Lance motioned to the bag of clothes they had purchased earlier.

"Sure," getting up, Pietro picked the bag up, shaking his head when Tabitha offered to carry it instead. "You carry the duffel bag, I've got this."

Moving carefully, Lance eased their last member, still slumbering, into his arms, standing up, but despite his caution, the boy stirred, opening his eyes. "Lance?"

"Sorry, Todd. I didn't mean to wake you."

"No, it's okay. Where we going yo?" Todd asked, rubbing his eyes for a moment as Lance put him down.

"We're just going to get a room at that motel we saw, so we can get changed and eat something."

Nodding to Tabitha's words, Todd pulled off the coat around him, handing it back to Lance. "I'm not cold," he insisted before Lance could raise any arguments.

"Here," rummaging around his bag and fishing out the sweatshirt that Tabitha had picked out earlier, Pietro handed the garb to Todd. "Wear that over your uniform."

Giving him a small smile in thanks, Todd took the sweater and pulled it on.

Reassured by the new layer the boy was wearing, Lance put on his duster as well.  
"All right, let's go."

* * *

Pietro clenched his fists, reminding himself of the situation and forcing himself to calm down. They were presently in the lobby of a motel, trying to acquire a room; the third and last motel around. 

"Look, I have the money, we just need one room," Lance struggled to keep his voice even.

"I'm sorry, sir, we have no rooms available." The hotel manager's tone was one of forced courtesy, but the other staff members had refused to even provide that service, glaring at them.

"To hell with this," Pietro muttered, starting towards them, but Tabitha put a hand on his shoulder.

"I know how you feel. But we can't start anything. Lance'll work it out."

"Guys," Todd's voice drew their attentions to the teen.

Fists trembling in anger, Lance scowled. "Fine, have it your way," he snarled, swerving around and walking back to the waiting three. "Didn't work," he murmured, voice calming down as he spoke to them, but unable to shake off the anger.

"What do we do now?" Todd asked, looking around. They had no other place to try, and even if they had, they didn't expect the reaction to be any different.

"Pietro," Lance sighed. "I don't know... we can't spend another night outside. It's all right now, but in the evening it'll get colder."

"And it's going to rain," Pietro reminded.

"We'll think of something," Tabitha reassured, patting the white-haired boy on the back. "Come on, let's get out of here, we can find some place to eat and think of what to do later."

"...I am hungry," Todd admitted.

"No wonder, it's one already. All right, let's do that," Lance sighed, and picking up their duffel bag, he motioned towards the door.

As she made her way out, Tabitha glared at the people that simply insisted on making things harder. For once she was somewhat glad that they were out of action, because otherwise she had a feeling this place would be leveled by now, either because of her, Pietro, or Lance. And while that would be a temporary stress-reliever, they would regret it later.

As Lance closed the door behind them, he glanced back, catching a glimpse of the hotel staff members' eyes.

_Good riddance. Damn punks._

_Finally, they're gone._

_Lousy hoods. Next time I'll call the police._

Turning around, Lance left the building.

* * *

Watching them eat, talking together, making jokes... they used to take it for granted, being allowed the freedom to eat when they wanted, to eat what they wanted, to sleep when they wanted, to dress in what they wanted... to spend time together. 

Sure they had often run out of money, and they might have missed a meal or two here and there, not to mention a couple showers when the water was cut.

But never had they needed permission to be together. To just sit around, momentarily forgetting everything else, just enjoying each other's company...

It was what made all this, despite the anxiety, the panic, the fear, worth it. Just being able to be together.

Tabitha smiled as she watched Pietro and Todd debate the contents of the sandwiches they had just eaten, though they were both getting to lean towards turkey rather than chicken.

Next to Todd sat Lance, and in between Lance and Pietro, Tabitha handed the oldest of the family a bottle of water to drink along with his meal.

They had managed to find a park nearby, and had decided to take up one of the tables- it was free, and there weren't many people around, due to the fact that it was school/work time.

Plus, none of them could pass up the chance to be near the green.

It was amazing how much one could miss even the simplest of things. For instance, the feel of sitting in a shade under a tree. Hearing the wind rustle the leaves. Watching the squirrels play.

Never before had they even noticed these things, but being deprived of them, they realized how fortunate they were to just be able to breathe fresh air outside.

She noticed a few passer-bys giving them odd looks, and almost chuckled. It was an unusual sight, when she thought about it. Four teenagers out in the middle of a park at this time; dressed strangely at that. They were all still in uniform, since today had been the first time that they had had the vague chance to buy new clothes for themselves.

Tabitha fingered the zipper pulls on her pocket, wondering, not for the first time, how they had managed to get into this situation. But pushing that thought out of her mind, she glanced around her friends- her family, a faint smile making its way across her features as she noted their clothes.

Their uniforms weren't as attention grabbing as they had been before all this, but nonetheless, they weren't exactly 'blending' either. They had all taken off their eyewear, but even without the sunglasses, goggles, and other protective garb, such as their gloves, they weren't exactly wearing every day clothes.

Lance had on his black duster undone, dark gray uniform visible underneath, along with the metal plates on them, as well as a number of other metal accessories. His boots were just as out of the ordinary as his clothes, the metal plated theme continuing.

Todd had on the sweatshirt now, and seemed the least conspicuous out of them, with the possible exception of his footwear, the metal on the boots rather unusual. Not to mention that something occasionally gleamed around Todd's neck, the metal collar there reacting to the exposure of sunlight, despite the fact that most of it was covered by the hood of Todd's top and his hair.

Pietro had his jacket zipped up, and from waist up, looked like he was just wearing something resembling a motorcycle jacket. However, from the waist down, his battle gear was more distinguished, the light blue streaks on his black pants a stark contrast to the overall black motif of his uniform.

Lastly Tabitha's thoughts wandered to herself, and looking at her own garments, she realized that her jacket, similar in nature to Pietro's, might also pass for 'regular' garb, but her boots would never work. Not to mention the fact that her metal wristbands, akin to those the rest of the Brotherhood wore, were more visible, contradicting the darkness of her long gloves.

It was a good thing most of them had their clothes out of sight for the most part; even Lance, with his it undone, had his coat drawn close around him, barely open.

All in all, however, they were a unique ensemble, and truthfully, despite the massive amounts of attention they attracted, Tabitha liked it that way.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" 

"We'll be fine, Toddy," Tabitha comforted, but the teen was not wholly convinced.

"What if you guys get hurt, yo?" he asked, worry clear in his voice and expression, though they couldn't see too clearly in the darkness.

Lance put a hand on his shoulder. "We won't. I should be able to do it, but since Tabby's going to be helping me too, we shouldn't have a problem."

"I don't know, we shouldn't push too far," Pietro mumbled, also not fully certain of the idea.

"We won't. We can make it," Tabitha gave them a thumbs-up. "Don't worry," she stated last, before reaching for Lance with one finger.

Lance nodded, giving the two a final smile of reassurance before meeting Tabitha's finger with his own, both teens having shed their gloves for the purpose. Within seconds they pulled away, panting slightly.

Pietro and Todd immediately moved over, Pietro helping Lance while Todd supported Tabitha.

"I- I- have it," Tabitha spoke between sharp breaths.

"And," Lance inhaled deeply. "So do I."

Taking a minute or two to recover, Lance finally nodded. "All right, I'm ready. Tabby?"

"Me too," Tabitha flashed a grin of confidence. "Let's rock." There was a brief pause before she reiterated. "I mean, come on.:

After a small chuckle at her words, Lance focused once more on the task at hand, nodding. "Pietro, Todd, you guys have to stand by in case we can't do this."

"What do we do if you guys... um, black out?" Pietro asked, not having the time to choose his words as well as he would have liked.

"Get us out of here," Lance answered, turning towards the entrance of the hotel. "But not too far; we'll wake up soon, and then we can move together. I don't want you guys over-exerting either."

"We won't," Pietro replied. "Can I-"

"No, don't hurt the hotel staff," Tabitha interrupted. Even without the aid of telepathy, she could catch onto his question before it was out.

"Damn," Pietro murmured.

"Todd, keep an eye on him," Tabitha winked, and with that, the four strode over to the doors of the hotel.

"When I say," Lance mumbled, opening the doors. As soon as they were inside, Lance spoke. "Now."

* * *

It had been a lucky shot. 

Lance had known that the possibility for failure was as strong as the one for success, and personally, he had doubted that he would be able to pull it off. But with Tabby backing him up, they had somehow managed to get enough power to make the hotel staff believe, for one night, that they had given one of their rooms to a...

"Why did you have to go with a country music band, of all things?" Pietro mused as he walked out of the bathroom, now clad in the new, and definitely more comfortable and less noticeable, clothes they had gotten earlier.

Lance shrugged. "I don't know... someone had it on mind, I think. I guess I picked it up. It was the first thing that came to me."

"Well it worked, so it's all good," Tabitha commented on her way to the bathroom, clothes in hand.

"Yeah, but you guys are all tired now," Todd spoke, sitting on the bed, soon joined by Pietro.

"Nah, we're all right. Just need some sleep," Lance got up from the chair he had been occupying as Tabitha re-entered the room, uniform in hand instead of the clothes she had taken inside the bathroom.

As Lance took his turn to change, Tabitha walked over to the duffel bag they had, tossing her clothes in the pile that was their uniforms next to it. "So, you guys want to turn in now or a little later?" she asked as she sat down next to them.

"After Lance comes out," Todd answered, trying hard not to yawn.

"Yeah," Pietro nodded, also stifling a yawn.

"Waiting for me?" Lance asked as, he closed the door of the bathroom, adding his battle gear to the bundle, checking the locks as well.

"But of course," Tabitha smiled. "So how we doing this?"

Lance looked around the room. It was the cheapest the hotel had, its furniture collection consisting of a bed, a couch, and a small desk and chair."Todd and 'Tro- the bed, Tabby the couch."

"Where are you sleeping?" Pietro questioned.

Lance shrugged. "I can sleep on the floor."

"Oh no you don't. Maybe three of us can fit in the bed, yo," Todd suggested.

"Don't think so Todd," Tabitha said, noting the unstable squeaking of the mattress as well as its small size. Pushing off the bed, she stretched and walked over to the couch. Grabbing one of the two cushions on the sofa, she tossed it on the floor and leaning over, took Lance's duster, placing it beside the pillow-to-be. "Lancey, I'm borrowing your coat," she declared before lying down.  
"Night guys."

Lance frowned at her action, moving over and nudging her gently. "Tabby, sleep on the couch."

"Nah Lance, I don't need it," Tabitha murmured, eyes closed.

"I'm used to the floor, I can sleep fine on it," Lance argued.

"Me too," Tabitha mumbled, falling asleep fast.

Sighing, but giving up, knowing that the only girl of the family would be quite upset if he moved her against her wishes, Lance looked at Pietro and Todd.  
"Todd-"

"Shh," Todd whispered. "Pie' fell asleep."

"Oh," Lance walked up to the side of the bed. "You go to sleep too, Todd."

Fighting off closing eyes, Todd watched as Lance drew the sheets up to their shoulders, brushing a stray hair out of Pietro's face before turning back to Todd. "Lance..."

"Yeah Todd?"

"Thanks..."

A smile crossed Lance's face as he nodded, watching Todd fall into slumber. He was glad they had all fallen asleep so quickly, but then again, they were all extremely tired. A yawn forcing its way out, Lance walked over to the couch, pausing only to grab the extra blanket in the room and drape it over Tabitha's sleeping form and to turn off the light.

It had been days since they had been able to find decent shelter, and following that was a great loss of sleep, not to mention food. But by now they were used to naps instead of a full night's rest, and one meal a day was all they needed. Nonetheless, Lance wished that he could offer more for them. They deserved so much better.

Sighing, he sat down on the couch, momentarily debating the idea of moving Tabitha after all, but deciding against it. That was the thing about Tabitha- once she made up her mind, you weren't going to do anything to change it for her. Then again, that was kind of the general rule for everyone in the Brotherhood. They were just determined that way.

Looking over at them as he slumped into the couch, lying down, Lance thanked whatever fortune it was that let him use his powers, just for tonight if never again. Though he doubted that never again was an option, considering their current situation.

Arms behind his head, Lance contemplated their present circumstances. Here they were, running from one of the most powerful mutants on earth. They didn't even have their powers to use against Magneto, at least not unless Magneto decided to let them fight back.

Fingering the metal collar around his neck, Lance sighed once more. The collar would not let them have any control over their powers, old or new. Or, to be completely exact, the wielder of the collars' controller would not allow them such luxuries. And unsurprisingly, that person just happened to be the master of magnetism himself.

No matter how hard they would try, they would not be able to escape if Magneto found them and decided to take them back. Finding them wasn't any trouble either; their collars served not only to control their powers from the outside, but as tracking devices. And while, in the past, Lance might have had vague hopes of being deemed unworthy of the effort of retrieving, he knew that in their current conditions, even Magneto would not deny their value. Each of the four could be one of the strongest mutants around, if they were allowed their full powers. But the knowledge was useless to the Brotherhood members themselves, as they had no say in the matter.

If he hadn't been so used to it, Lance would be sickened at the fact that they had so little, if any at all, control over their own lives. But that was the way things were. All he could do was try to make the best out of it for Todd, Pietro, Tabitha, and himself.

* * *

Non-English Dialogue Translations: 

_Me molestaron. _They annoyed me. (Spanish)  
_Nos miran como si seamos basura..._ They look at us like we're trash... (Spanish)  
_Sé._ I know. (Spanish)

_¡Pero éste es el lugar pasado! ¡Hay ningún donde ir!_ But this is the last place! There is nowhere else to go! (Spanish)  
_...Je ne devrais pas avoir perdu mon trempe._ ...I shouldn't have lost my temper. (French)


	2. Morning Thoughts and Revelations

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Authors' Notes

Seta Kaede: Hey everyone! I'm glad to see that everyone is still reading, and hopefully enjoying, our story. Here is my next chapter and I am happy to say that it was a creation of my twisted mind. Of course thanks are always to go my two co-authors Life-of-LA and Silverwolf; without them this story would be nothing. The next chapter is their responsibility and I can't wait to read it! This is Seta Kaede signing out….

Life-of-L.A. & Silverwolf: Egads, c'est magnifique! We're not even going to say a lot, because we don't want to delay the reading of this chapter any longer. Seta Kaede, you rock! That should say all.

Review responses (from Life-of-L.A. & Silverwolf):

LadyEvils: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Take a guess, you might be right! As for Todd, you shall see in this chapter. We're all happy to hear you like how things are proceeding, and this chapter makes things even better! Enjoy!

ray1: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Indeed, the Brotherhood has hard times coming up (and it's not like they left behind pretty things). And we do have a few more surprises- and some are unveiled in this chapter! We hope you'll like it.

Kapparan Majic: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Sigh Yes, Freddy's death was unfortunate. But we will have many mentions of Fred as the story continues, sort of a 'continuing on' after death thing. We're glad to know that the bilingual characteristics worked out, not to mention that you like Tabby's portrayal!

Zero-Vision: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Poor Brotherhood indeed. And they still have so much to get through. Not to mention a surprise near the end of this chapter. Ominous music We appreciate your review; please continue to support us in such a way!

Chuckles123: Thank you for reading and reviewing! All shall be revealed in this chapter! Well, actually, the whole foreign languages deal will not be covered in this chapter. But it's coming, we promise. In the meantime you get to learn about the whole new powers thing everyone has going on, will that be enough for now? We hope you enjoy the update.

Cammy: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Hey, thanks! We rock, don't we? Lol. And lucky for you, you didn't have to wait long for the new chapter! Here you go, hope you like it!

* * *

**Chapter 2 – Morning Thoughts and Revelations**

The sun coming through the thin curtains in the motel room was the first thing to rouse

Lance from his deep slumber. He stretched his body, reveling in the first real night of sleep that any of them had gotten in longer then he could remember.

Sitting up Lance quickly glanced around seeing that he indeed was the first one awake. With a small smile he carefully navigated his way to the bathroom. As he opened the door, he glanced down at the watch that he had taken to wearing. It was only a few minutes past 6 a.m. after all. Sadly that was blissfully later then any of them were used to sleeping till.

With a sigh Lance basked under the hot spray of a shower, the pleasant water relaxing muscles that had been tense even in sleep. The teen quickly ran a small amount of shampoo through his long hair and regretfully fingered the metal circlet around his neck and the two matching ones on both his wrists.

Shaking his head Lance climbed out of the shower. Drying himself quickly, he pulled on the black jeans and a brown high-necked t-shirt under a warm brown over-shirt that Tabby and Pietro had bought for him the day before. He ignored the aches and pains and purposely turned a blind eye to the bruises on his body as he pulled his hair back and out of the way.

As he exited the bathroom Lance saw Tabby opening her eyes; they had become used to going instantly from asleep to awake so the luxury of waking up slowly was not lost on her. She nearly purred as she stretched out. Watching her, Lance laughed very softly and immediately got a sleepy glare.

The two on the bed were still asleep and somehow neither had been plagued with their usual dreams or nightmare; both the older teens were relieved that the two had finally gotten some real sleep. It had been a long while since any of them had gotten what was considered a normal night's sleep.

Not to mention that this would probably be the last real beds they would be sleeping in; staying in one place for such a considerable amount of time was never a good idea. Not to mention the fact that their money was running low; Lance knew they could always just lift some more wallets, but he was hesitant to.

Despite what anyone else thought, none of the Brotherhood members were bad people. They were teenagers thrown into a situation they couldn't control; they had only done what was necessary to survive. But as much as he regretted his decision to join Mystique and Magneto, Lance could never regret the family that it had brought him.

Pushing the thoughts aside with the ease of long practice, Lance turned back to Tabby.  
"The shower's open and the water's hot."  
The girl's eyes immediately perked up and her mouth turned up in a small smile; hot water was always a good thing. Unlike others, none of the Brotherhood members took anything, like hot water, for granted; they knew that it wouldn't always be there. Hell, they had even done without it several times when they couldn't pay the water bill for the month.

He watched as she disappeared inside the small bathroom; after she had vanished behind the door he quickly stuffed a few items into the duffle bag and lay back down on the couch. He listened to the sound of the running water in the shower and evaluated their moves for the next few days.

They had to keep moving. Until they had a much longer distance in between themselves and Magneto, it was impossible to take a real break. There was a chance that Magneto didn't know they were gone yet, but it was highly unlikely. The "Master of Magnetism" seemed to know their movements better then they did sometimes. It was one of the numerous things that had truly kept them on their toes around him.

Sighing, Lance sat up and moved onto the floor folding his legs below him and closed his eyes trying to concentrate on building the walls in his mind. He imagined strong clay walls forming around his conscious mind, blocking out the thoughts of those who wished to intrude.

It was hard; the constant pounding at his mental walls by every single person around him was constant pressure. When he got tired or weak, his walls dropped and then his thoughts were no longer his own.

Luckily the brotherhood members had forced him to teach them how to build their own walls, they had become so he would rarely catch a stray thought and truly only heard them when they directed their minds at him. There was a constant link that the four shared and Lance could feel it humming just under his skin- reassuring him that his three family members were all well.

The clay and rock walls were slowly built, packed tightly around and sealed; he took a deep breath and opened his eyes. It was times like this that Lance truly hated Magneto more than he had anyone in his life.

Each one of them was cursed with powers that they had never been meant to have- powers that had affected them each in such different, but same life-changing ways. Lance himself now was a telepath, not to mention the blasts that he could direct from himself. On top of that, his original powers had been increased and enhanced, making him even more of a powerful earth force then before.

It was amazing, the array of thoughts and emotions that ran through people's minds without their even realizing it. It sucked to have to concentrate every minute to block out these thoughts, these thoughts that were not his own. And of course, even though he suffered the effects of the power it wasn't like he could really use it because of the goddamn collar around his neck.

It was one of the great ironies of their life now; they had tremendous power but yet they still couldn't use them. All because of that single but extremely powerful restriction put on them by the one who gave them these powers. It was a confusing and convoluted way to live and think, but after so much time Lance was used to it.

As he opened his eyes and unfolded his body he could hear the shower shut off in the bathroom; a few minutes later Tabby appeared from the doors dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a simple purple sweatshirt over a white turtleneck. She had left her hair hanging down and the mess fell around her face making her look younger then she actually was.

Running a towel over the still wet hair she smiled at Lance, "Oh that was amazing. I'd completely forgotten how good a hot shower feels. That was even better then I had thought it would be."

With a small laugh she chucked the wet towel at Lance, laughing harder when he tossed her a disgruntled look and pulled the towel off his head. When they heard stirring from the bed both of them turned and saw the younger half of the team waking up.

Pietro awoke like he did everything else- fast and active. He rubbed his eyes as he climbed off the bed, "Did someone say something about a hot shower?" he asked hopefully.

Tabby was the first to respond, "Yep, the water's hot and the shower works- go for it."

With a small grin the now more reserved speed demon zipped into the bathroom; Todd just watched the older boy with a smile as the door slammed. "You would think that we just offered him money and jewels."

Lance smiled as he heard Todd joking again, the sleep had obviously done them all some good; it was worth the headache he had suffered to get them the room. "Todd, when Pietro comes out of the bathroom you shower up and then we can let Pietro tell us where we are headed today."

Todd nodded in response; they were all curious as too where they were headed, ultimately of course they wanted to make it to the opposite coast. Their only hope was that whatever tracking chips were in their collars, they would be inactive once they were a certain distance away.

Tabby grabbed the cushion off the floor setting it back down on the couch and she quickly flopped next to Lance. The power drain she had done on the other yesterday had exhausted her but the sleep had done wonders to help her replenish her wasted energy.

Each one of the Brotherhood settled into their own thoughts, each one thinking about what was coming and what they would have to do. Their new powers were still being discovered in all their intricacies, but having theses same new powers, they could also feel the powers growing at the same time. Yet they could do nothing to release them.

Sighing Tabby looked down at her hands, it was amazing the destructive power now held in her dainty palms. Not only could she absorb the life energy of others, even suck them dry if she wanted, she could also destroy anything with a mere thought. It was a heady experience being able to control the destruction of particles around her; she could even slow the decimation of her own atoms.

This allowed her to constantly replenish her system, giving her a glow on her skin as it was consistently in it's best state, and a gleam to her hair since it was constantly being replenished. While the girl had always been pretty she now had a slight otherworldly appearance that only helped to keep others away. Which was a relief, considering her other new developments.

Because while she could control the absorption of others it was a constant process, it required a lot of energy and continued concentration; overall it was just easier for others to not touch her.

Still sitting on the bed, Todd was tossing a small ball he had carried with him back and forth, it kept his hands occupied as it now took him no thought to easily catch and do complicated tosses with it. It seemed that now he constantly wanted to be doing something with his hands, his own new acrobatic skills extend not just to flexibility but also to his coordination and ability to grasp to walls, adding to and enhancing his own original powers.

Not only that but now he could teleport; though of course, the collar had to be removed from his neck before he could even think of it. The power was different from its donor however, having a slight twist to it. The few times he had 'ported, Todd had left behind him a scent of evergreens and a burst of extra oxygen into the room; it was an interesting experience.

The healing power he had also had instilled into him was something that, while being useful, he hated. You could do nearly anything to the younger mutant and he would heal from it; of course he couldn't heal removed limbs but anything up to that seemed to be fair game. The smallest brotherhood member shuddered as he remembered the training he had received to see just how far his new powers could be taken, and just how much he could heal.

Lance looked up feeling Todd's anxiety and memory through their connection. With a small thought he sent a feeling of reassurance and safety directly to the boy, taxing his concentration but not by much. He could see that it worked, by the grateful look he received and the slight relaxing of Todd's tense shoulders.

Tabby felt the byplay in her own extension of the link and gently added her own calm waves to the link; they were immediately picked up on and all three were calmed by the feelings of security. Finally the door to the bathroom opened and Pietro stepped out wearing a blue turtleneck sweater over a pair of jeans. His hair was loose around his face, the snowy-white waves giving him a softer, slightly more rounded appearance.

As he stepped fully out of the bathroom Todd scooted right behind him and through the open door, closing it quickly behind him. The other teen cast a startled look at the door surprised at the stealth of the youngest member.

He glared at the two teens on the couch when he heard their low chuckles. "Oh yes, let's all laugh at the poor boy with no hair gel."

"Trust me, no hair gel for you is a good look. It makes you look less like HIM and more like yourself," replied Tabby seriously as Pietro plopped down on the bed, carefully folding his legs.

"I fully agree- not to mention it makes you blend in a little more Pietro. We don't exactly want to stand out," agreed Lance as he looked at the two others.

With a 'hmmph' Pietro simply settled down on the bed taking deep breaths and closing his eyes. He couldn't be as hyper or as bipolar as he once had been; his new powers would simply not allow that. He was far too likely to hurt one of the others if he truly let his emotions get out of control.

It had taken him awhile to simply gain the ability to sit still and concentrate, he processed everything so quickly that sitting motionless and thinking about one thing was not something he had ever wanted to do. Now however, he had to, simply for the fact that if he let himself be uncontrolled he could easily skewer his friends with the lovely spikes from a certain 'friend', or drown the city in a rainstorm.

Of course with the collar he was unable to truly do the vast majority of his powers, but he still concentrated everyday so that he could feel the weather around him, feel the ebb and flow of the ecosystem. Not to mention that he hoped the collars wouldn't be on forever, and once they came off he would have to be able to control himself.

As he concentrated he could feel the link they shared humming in the back of his brain, it was a comforting presence that reminded him he was not alone, and that he would not be. There had been several times when he felt like the connection to the others had been the only thing that had kept him going; had kept himself from simply ending it all.

He came out of his center as he heard Todd exit the bathroom quietly. He was dressed in a pair of dark brown corduroys and a green long sleeve, high-necked shirt under a heavier darker green sweater. He was the one who usually got the coldest so both Tabby and Pietro had made sure to buy his clothes in layers and heavy materials.

Once all four of them were in the room Lance stood, grabbing the large duffel bag off the floor, "C'mon, let's get out of here." They left by the back exit, because it was unlikely that they could fool whoever had taken over the next shift that they were actually a country band.

Together they walked down the street and Pietro looked towards the sky, his eyes unfocused for the moment. "It looks like we have a few days of good weather, though it might get a little chilly at night." He looked back down at the others, his eyes refocusing as they continued to walk towards the large bus station at the end of the street.

Once they reached the station Lance stopped and turned to Pietro, "So, are you going to tell us where we're headed, or are you just gonna grab tickets?"

Pietro looked at the other three seriously as he walked up to the window and grabbed the tickets he had purchased the day before. "This will be the last bus to where we're headed. After that we can move our asses out to the coast."

When he got three varying looks of exasperation, he sighed. "I promise I'll answer all your questions when we get there; I just don't want to deal with this shit right now, okay?"

The rest of the group looked at his tired face and stance and merely nodded; they could afford to wait, and this was one of the few people they actually trusted in their lives. With a small grin of appreciation from Pietro, the four headed for the depot to catch their bus.

The ride on the vehicle was quiet; the four received varying suspicious looks from the other passengers and the driver. Lance was concentrating on maintaining his walls in such a contained space and they were all contributing their own walls to blocking out the psychic noise.

Finally, several hours later they arrived at a smaller bus stop and the four disembarked; Lance couldn't fully block a few thoughts from evading his mind.

_Punks, at least they finally got off_

_Good riddance to bad garbage_

_Losers_

_They seemed nice_

The last thought that filtered through astonished him and he concentrated on it, noticing it came from an older woman that had been sitting across from them. Pietro had offered her his seat since he was on the aisle.

It filled him with some hope for the future, realizing that not everyone looked at them and only saw a few punks.

The three followed Pietro down the block for a short while, until he stopped, glancing up.

Lance turned and saw a large sign looming in front of them, SAMUEL TRUNE SANATORIUM. With a slightly incredulous look he turned to Pietro, "Do you know someone here or are we here to commit you?"

Pietro looked at the sign for a moment, before turning back to his family, a deep look in his eyes, "Yeah, I know someone here. My sister."

* * *


	3. Reunited but for what cause?

* * *

-Authors' notes- 

Life-of-L.A. & Silverwolf: Let us start off with apologies for the late chapter. Took us almost two months, we know. Life-of-L.A. has just finished a round of tests (blasted mid-terms), and is completely exhausted. Who the hell said school was fun? Meanwhile, Silverwolf has been busy with 'college crap', as she likes to call it. Again, who the bloody hell said school was fun? Not to mention the fact that Silver's in the fall play of the school she goes to, and has been busy with rehearsals, while Life-of-L.A. is being her usual social self and quite busy organizing club events, doing extra curricular activities, and etc. in her school. In short, we're damn busy these days. And our muses are drowning in all the work, not getting a chance to get creative.  
But really, we are sorry for the delay; Seta Kaede has been so punctual and despite the fact that there are two of us and one of her, we're always the late ones. So, in conclusion- sorry Seta. And sorry, readers.  
We'll make it up with Wanda's entrance.  
Seta Kaede, you're on in five; four-three-two- _cue_

Seta Kaede: _Blinks at the flash of light. Big smile._ Hi everybody, sorry about the long delay and just for the record you two are officially forgiven. The chapter rocks and I will get to work on our next chapter as soon as possible. Anyway, my damn midterms are finally done, hoorah! I thought they were never going to end. The human body has an excellent capacity to go without sleep when necessary. That is the lesson for this week boys and girls. Now to sign off (until next time).  
The reviewer responses will begin in five-four-three-two-cue opening title

Review Responses – as done by Seta Kaede

Cammy Don't know exactly how Pietro and Wanda are gonna interact quite yet. But you can bet they are gonna have some major issues!

Kapparan Majic Here is the chapter with you favorite character! Wanda just happens to enter in this chapter. She is going to be an actual part of the story! I hope you keep reviewing.

ray1 Reactions galore in this chapter and I am frantically working on the next one. Please keep reviewing!

LadyEvils Thanks for the review I hope you like this chapter, more of Wanda will be explored in this chapter.

Bronwen Thanks for the review and updates are coming, just slowly because of school.

Gianna Here is another chapter, sorry about the long wait, don't blame me!

Let the story begin – lights-camera-action!

* * *

**Chapter 3. Reunited but for what cause?**

"...Your sister?"

Three voices echoed the words identically.

"My sister," Pietro sighed.

"But you told us-"

"I know," Pietro looked away, averting his eyes to the ground. "I'm sorry. I just... I just couldn't tell you guys the truth. I- I didn't know until it was too late... I abandoned her. Just like that. She never ran away... I... I let him lock her up! I let him lock her up," as his voice fell, the three didn't hesitate to move closer. Lance quietly pulled him close, putting his arm around the younger boy.

"It's all right Pietro."

Nodding over to the more shaded area around the gates, Tabitha gently led her brothers to a spot under a tree. Todd silently took Pietro's hand after the teen sat down, along with the rest of the Brotherhood.

"It wasn't her fault- it was her powers, they were so uncontrollable, but that wasn't her fault, she didn't have any choice- I didn't stop him- I just let him lock her up so he wouldn't have to deal with anything. It wasn't her fault. He just didn't care. He just locked her up. I didn't do anything. I didn't help her. It's my fault," his voice broke, and sobbing, he held on to them.

"Pietro, it's not your fault," Lance assured softly.

Knelt close to them, in front of Pietro, Tabitha nodded. "Don't blame yourself, Pietro. None of it was your fault."

On the white-haired teen's left, Todd never let go.

* * *

It was several minutes before Pietro managed to calm down, and to the Brotherhood this was a lengthy period of time, as they were always to complete everything in the least amount of time possible- sometimes even impossible times. 

Breathing steady once more, Pietro had explained to them the whole story- the twins' powers had emerged on the same day, a month before their fourteenth birthdays; that much the Brotherhood had known.

What they had not known was that, after discovering their powers, Pietro and Wanda had gotten different reactions from their 'father'. As Wanda could not control her powers at the time, he had simply locked her up in the asylum, while leaving Pietro to continue living with the Maximoffs for further observations.

"I need to get her out. I should never have left her..."

"It wasn't your fault Pietro," Tabitha reassured, brushing the boy's bangs out of his face. "Believe us."

As Pietro nodded slowly to the three, Lance turned his attention on the building of the asylum. Clearing his voice, he changed the topic to the subject requiring immediate attention, now that they were ready.

"All right, we're breaking her out, then. Pietro, do you know anything about the structure of the building?"

Even before Pietro shook his head, Todd and Tabitha were shaking theirs. "Lance, don't do anything too big," Todd reminded, worry overtaking his features, barely having had time to leave after Pietro's minor breakdown.

"We need to be discreet; if any of this gets out as more than an accident, it won't be hard to point it to us," Tabitha continued. "No evidence left behind."

Nodding, Lance sighed. "How much power do we have?" he asked after a moment, looking around.

"Not much..." Pietro admitted, followed by Todd's silent nod.

"I can take a little," Tabitha murmured.

"I think the most I can do is find her. So we'll have to go the old-fashioned way from there."

The three nodded to Lance and with that, he closed his eyes, the strain visible. It was a minute till he opened them again, a light coat of perspiration glistening on him.

"She's in one of the rooms by the east wall."

"...So what do we do?" Todd asked.

* * *

Wanda Maximoff had just returned from a meeting with a certain Professor Xavier, and she was not in a very happy mood. Not that the scenario played out that way very often. 

What she hadn't been expecting was another cause to leave her cell, at least not until much later that day, in the evening.

Nonetheless she wasn't about to let the surprise deter her from putting up a fight as the workers came to get her. Scowling, she glared at the door as it opened, but was actually taken aback to see that only two people were there.

And they seemed surprised to see her.

Things were getting strange... maybe they were new employees. Or maybe she was just going crazy at last. After staying in an asylum for two years, it was a distinct possibility, though she was almost positive she hadn't been insane when she was first placed in this state of captivity. No, she hadn't...

"Wanda... are you Wanda?" the first of the two spoke, uncertainty clear in her voice; her voice was oddly calm and somewhat... comforting. But then again, that wasn't possible, was it.

Nothing was comforting where she was.

Glowering still, she nodded. So they were new. Mindless as well, to come in without any aid from the more experienced the employees.

"Don't do anything," as if they had guessed, "we're here to help you," as if they could. "Please, just trust us."

The female stepped closer, and just as Wanda melted away the metal locks on her restraints, she slashed out at the pale green uniform-clad woman. Only to have her wrist caught with ease... gloved hands? That had never happened before.

The second of the two quietly approached, his voice equally gentle as he spoke. The only thing Wanda noticed that didn't have a comforting air about it was that he had beads of sweat running down his face.

"We want to help you, Wanda. You have to trust us on this. Don't fight. We'll explain everything later."

Wanda merely glared. As she struggled against the grasp, the side of her hand scraped against something...metallic.

The other had seemingly noticed this as well, for she quickly let go, jerking away... almost... defensively?

The male reached for the other, but she only shook her head, looking at Wanda still. There was something about her eyes that reminded Wanda of someone... someone... but who?

"Give us a chance. We're on your side. And we're getting you out of here."

Wanda didn't know why, but she found herself lowering her arms. Finally she spoke. "If this is a trick-"

"It's not," the male assured. "Are you with us?"

After a moment, Wanda nodded. A relieved look immediately crossed both the others' faces.

"Good, then we'll get going now. I'm going to have to ask you to be silent however."

As she narrowing her eyes, distrust obvious, the male sighed.

"Please, just believe us for now. We don't have much time, and this is the only chance we have."

"...Fine."

* * *

The hallway seemed to be never-ending, but the tension only increased as the three approached the exit- and the guards. 

The first of the two guards looked over with a grin and a greeting. "Hey, how're you doing?"

"Fine, thanks," as the male of their company spoke; Wanda's eyebrows knitted in confusion- the guards didn't seem to notice her at all.

The other guard cocked his head however, looking at them. "Hey, I haven't seen you three around before- you new or something?"

"Yeah, we're... filling in..." the female trailed off, but the guard seemed not to have noticed.

"Oh, for Jake and Billy, eh? They finally went on vacation?"

"Uh, yeah, I think they were the ones; we didn't get that much information. We just finished out shifts, so-"

"Man, I need my vacation," the guard said wistfully.

"Who doesn't? Boss doesn't like us to go off so much though," the other guard agreed.

Wanda didn't say anything though she was thoroughly confused now. The confusion didn't keep her from noticing the male starting to sweat more profusely however. Nor was she the only one, apparently, because the female was getting tenser and even the second guard was peering at him curiously.

"Hey man, you all right? It's not that hot in here, is it?"

"No, I just sweat easily," the male smiled sheepishly, but there was a definite hint of nervousness in his voice.

* * *

"It's taking so long. It shouldn't take this long, should it? It shouldn't take this long..." 

"Relax Pietro. You're going to bring a rain shower or something over here. They'll get here any minute now."

"No, my power's cut off right now. I couldn't get a single drop of rain even if I tried."

"Still, worrying makes you tired."

Looking over at Todd's concerned face, Pietro sighed, looking away.

"Sorry Todd. I didn't mean to make you worried. I'm just anxious..." He nodded over to the trees by the beginning of the forest. "Let's wait over there; we'll be less noticeable. Just in case someone does look out or something."

* * *

"I'm thinking about going on vacation myself, after this job. Where would you recommend?" Tabitha interrupted, looking at the guards. 

As she had expected, numerous enthusiastic suggestions flew at her, and Lance was forgotten.

Without hesitating Tabitha reached over to Lance discreetly, tapping him lightly once, making him turn to look at her, though she was still looking at he guards, nodding to their words.

Silently she moved over to the counter, taking Lance's place as Lance and Wanda moved further towards the wall.

_I'll handle them. Phase out._

_What? No! Tabby-_

_I have it! Phase out while you can! Go!_

At the commanding urgency in her telepathic voice, Lance clenched his fists, closing his eyes for a second. Finally he grabbed Wanda and turned to the wall.

"Really? So you wouldn't recommend Florida at all?" Tabitha pretended to be surprised, thought she hardly cared about the orange juice-producing state.

Behind her she mentally felt Lance leave with a very confused Wanda, past the wall. Sighing, she quickly adjusted the telepathic mirage she had around her to imitate their presence along with hers- three uniformed employees of the asylum.

"Right, so how about... whoa, what's going on over there?"

The guards' eyes turned to see what she was pointing at- one of the camera screens showed that a small fight had broken out in the cafeteria.

"Oh man."

Tabitha shook her head, giving them a sympathetic look.

"You'd better go. I'll check myself out," she suggested.

"Yeah, thanks," the first of the guards nodded, heading down the hall already.

"Why always on my shift?" the second murmured to himself as he followed.

As soon as they turned the corner, Tabitha swerved around to the nearest room, quickly entering and closing the door behind her.

Relieved to find the window she had been hoping for, she ran over to it and climbed out.

* * *

"Who are you?!" Wanda demanded, trying to jerk away from Lance. 

"I'm a friend of Pietro's. He's waiting for you outside the gates," Lance replied, letting go of her.

"**Pietro**?!"

"We have to get out of here. We'll explain everything later," as he broke out into a run, Wanda found herself running alongside.

"Where are we going?"

"Just out to the edge of the forest."

* * *

"Lance!" 

Todd jumped up from the rock he had been sitting on, and Pietro scrambled off the ground. "Where's Tabby?"

"Change of plans," Lance replied, finally allowing himself to catch up with his breath, taking in gasps of air after running so hard.

Eyes widening, Pietro looked at Lance with frenetic blue eyes, reverting once more to panic.

"What do you mea..Wanda." Freezing at the sight of the latter, whom he had only now noticed, Pietro stared.

"...Pi-Pietro?"

"What I miss?"

Everyone turned at the last voice, relieved sighs leaving each.

"Tabby! That was horrible, leaving you there alone! Why'd you-"

"Everything went fine," Tabitha interrupted, looking at Lance as she stepped closer to the nearest tree and leaned on it. "It's all right Lance. We couldn't have followed the original plan anyhow. I couldn't wipe out all the cameras, even when I was leaving by myself," she said between deep breaths. "...Shit, I think I'm crashing..." she mumbled.

"Tabby!" Todd cried out as she collapsed.

Lance caught her before she could fall down completely onto the ground. "Tabby? Can you stay awake? Is it bad? Damn, I should've stayed behind and you should have taken Wanda out."

"I can't phase," Tabitha murmured. "And you were worse off than I was, trying to handle everything alone like that. You know better. You should have told me you were reaching limits. But we have to get away from here. They're going to notice that some of the cameras are out, and I didn't do a very good job of things."

It was only then that Wanda found her voice once more. "...Who are you all?"

* * *

"This has got to be the weirdest thing to ever happen here- who'd want to take that kid anyhow?" 

"Maybe she just managed to get past us somehow. Who knows what happened."

Clenching his fists, a third guard turned around, heading towards the security room. Upon reaching it he promptly closed the door, locking it.

Quickly he moved, sitting down and looking through the different tapes, rewinding and fast-forwarding for something that could be of aid in his search.

It wasn't until he got to the fourth tape that he found something worth looking at.

For just before the camera short-circuited, he spotted a certain person in the background. Before he could check the other tapes, he heard footsteps.

Getting up, he grabbed all the tapes, shoving them into the bag he had brought with him. Unlocking the door he quickly left the room, hearing the approaching person come down the hallway just as he turned the corner.

Proceeding on, the guard managed to get outside the building with no more encounters. Once outside, a gray-haired old lady met him. But merely shaking his head quickly, he motioned to the car, and both got in.

As they drove off, Mystique finally took her own form once more.

"Someone made it here before I did. But luck seems to be on my side," Mystique smirked, tossing the bag with the videotapes onto the floor of the car as she recollected the face in the background- a familiar face.

A certain earthquake-creating mutant to be exact.

"I know who they are."

* * *

"How did things go?" 

"Not very well. I haven't made much progress with her," Professor Charles Xavier sighed. "I'm afraid Wanda is too blinded by the desire to hate that she won't let anyone show her otherwise."

"She just needs a little time, I'm sure."

"Let's hope so, my friend."

"That's not the only thing troubling you, is it?" Hank asked, noting the tone of the telepath. "What's on your mind, Charles?"

"As I left, I felt some strange presences... they had a familiar feeling about them, yet they were distinctly unlike anyone else I have ever met."

"Do you think they were mutants?"

"Perhaps. I'm not certain. They had a dulled aura about them, and I couldn't identify them... it was almost as if someone, or something, was preventing me from discovering them."

* * *

"...So, back to the question you asked earlier," Lance said, breaking the silence as he put a few more branches into the undersized fire. The five were sitting around circularly in a small clearing, having determined that they had little choice but to camp out in the woods nearby the asylum for the night. 

Everyone looked up, and the tension rose as millions of unspoken thoughts and questions crossed their minds.

"You asked us who we were," Lance elaborated, though they already knew which question he had been referring to.

"Tyrać... Lance. Lance Alvers," he corrected himself, his voice falling down to a murmur as he looked away. "My name is Lance Alvers."

"...Wanda Maximoff. Though you already knew."

Noticing the correction Lance had made, Tabitha sighed mentally, pushing herself up off the tree trunk she had been leaning against and walking over. Sitting down next to Lance and taking his hand, she spoke, continuing the introductions.

"...Tabitha Smith... I'd put more of a bang in the intro, but I'm out of power right now," she grinned a little, a veiled attempt to thaw some of the tension.

Nodding, Wanda turned to Todd, the only person yet to be introduced.

"I'm Todd Tolensky," Todd said simply, putting some dried leaves into the fire, listening to it crackle. "Nice to meet you."

Lastly Wanda's gazed stopped at Pietro, whose eyes were downcast.

Until now, she had been so angry, so mad at him. For leaving her there. For leaving her alone.

For leaving her.

But... seeing him now... something had broken in him. Two years had passed since they had last seen each other, and now it seemed that she hadn't been the only one seeking a different life.

She couldn't bring herself to be mad at him, to hate him as she had so often wished in the time spent in her cell.

"...Wanda... I... I... I don't..."

"I'll be right back," Wanda murmured as she got up, turning around and heading into the woods. She needed to go for a walk.

Looking up and watching her leave for a second, Pietro's eyes clouded, and his gaze fell.

* * *

Tabitha shook her head as Lance started to move towards Pietro, motioning to Todd, who was obviously exhausted after the rescue, having distracted the first pair of guards with Pietro while Lance and Tabitha had made their way in. 

His eyes portrayed his every concerns and worries all to clearly; nonetheless the youngest of the family was barely shaking off the sleep,

"Get him to sleep- there's those two blanket we have in the duffle bag still, and we have a few more clothes he could use."

Hesitating because he knew that Tabitha had worn herself out more than anyone else power-wise, Lance finally nodded.

"Are you going to be all right?"

"Lancey, I'm fine. You worry about yourself, okay? I know you're almost down too."

Lance sighed, but didn't deny it, as it would be useless. "We're going to have to avoid trouble more than usual tomorrow; Pietro's not well either. Try to get him to get some rest; I'm going to see if I can get Todd to sleep a little too," Lance said as he took the blankets and an extra sweater, walking over to Todd, who was sitting close by the small fire.

* * *

Pietro looked up as Tabitha sat down next to him, the action taking her a little more effort than it should have. 

"Hey, you all right?"

"Yeah...sorry Tabby. You're drained and I'm making you worry about me when you don't even have to."

"I'm fine. How're you doing- not just powers and health, but how are you feeling. No lying."

"Pero me gustan mentiras," Pietro murmured.

"La verdad, Pietro."

"All right. Truthfully? Crappy as hell. But physically I'm good- I didn't really use powers today, so even with the block, things were all right. I think Todd was pretty strained though..."

"Pietro..." Wrapping her arm around the teen, Tabitha pulled him closer. "She'll understand."

"No... No pienso tan."

"¿Por qué Pietro?"

"...Porque...porque no entiendo también... If I don't even understand me most of the time, how could she? I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't even want to breathe the same air as me. She always stuck by me... she was the one that always protected me. But I... I..."

"Don't say that. She'll understand. Just give her a little time. She's your sister, and nothing will change that. She loves you. She's just mixed up right now."

"I think she hates me. I would hate me... and blood means nothing in our lives, haven't you noticed that?"

Tabitha shifted a little to let him lean more comfortably onto her, his head on her shoulder.  
"Give her a chance Pietro. And give yourself a chance."

* * *

"They'll be fine Todd, don't worry. Now, I'll be here with you; I want you to get some sleep." 

"I'm not tired..." Todd mumbled, but his eyes were half-closing already.

Placing the blanket on the ground, Lance gently picked the younger teen up, putting him down cautiously.

"Go to sleep, it'll be all right," Lance reassured as he wrapped the other blanket around the teen, tucking it close.

"Lance... what about Pietro? And his sister? Wanda?"

"I don't know Todd... Pietro's going to need some time to adjust. I don't know what Wanda is going to do. We'll know in the morning, probably. Get some sleep."

"You too... night," Todd fell sleep, more out of exhaustion than anything else.

"Good night Todd," Lance murmured.

* * *

Only after Pietro closed his eyes did Tabitha let a soft sigh escape her. She looked over to Lance and Todd, the first of whom was convincing the latter to sleep.  
She could see the fatigue on them, and again the thought of how old they were struck her.  
They were only teenagers, true, but their spirits were far beyond that, too old for their bodies.  
Creases of worry forever crossed Lance's features, and Todd, who had once been the most cheerful of them, constantly feared for their health, not to mention other things. On Pietro the scars were not as physical, but the Brotherhood could see them all- scars that would never disappear.  
Scars that decorated their own souls. 

They would never heal.

Even now, though they had escaped Magneto, they were bound to him; and his control, his power over them remained- too strong for any of them to fight, too inconspicuous for them to be able to extract it from their lives.

Their subconscious still told them they were his, and she knew that to be true for certain.

Lance had automatically referred to himself, not as Lance, or even Avalanche, a name long forgotten to them now, but as Tyrać.  
And Tabby knew that, had he not corrected himself, making them aware of it, they too would have introduced themselves by the new names recently given to them... the names forced upon them. The names that were too prevalent in their lives now, and they mechanically fell back to them.  
They were no longer Tabitha, Lance, Pietro and Todd.  
They were Rovinata, Tyrać, Títere, and Faible.  
They knew themselves by the names Magneto had bestowed upon them; so powerful had the repercussions of anything otherwise been that they could not allow themselves, even now, to do otherwise.  
A vague smirk fleeted across her face at the thought.

* * *

From behind the trees, Wanda looked on as Lance moved over to Pietro and Tabitha, carefully taking Pietro from Tabitha's arms and putting him down.

She watched as they placed some of the extra clothes around him, doing the best they could to keep him warm.

Not even when Tabitha and Lance took seats by the two and finished a short conversation, both starting to drift off against resolves, did Wanda walk out.

It wasn't until the dying fire threatened to let the darkness envelope the four, the shadows already shrouding them, that Wanda Maximoff walked out, taking a seat by the Brotherhood, putting a few branches in the fire.

* * *

Non-English Dialogue Translations:

_Pero me gustan mentiras._ But I like lying.

_La verdad, Pietro._ The truth, Pietro.

_No... No pienso tan._ No... I don't think so.

_¿Por qué Pietro?_ Why Pietro?

_...Porque...porque no entiendo también._ ...Because... because I don't understand either.

Note: As for the switching of languages mid-sentence and such- it does happen. Trust us, it does happen naturally to most (all those we know, anyhow) people that are fluent in more than one language. Especially when the other person in conversation is also fluent in the same languages.


	4. Reconnections of all sorts

Life-of-L.A. & Silverwolf here.  
We were really excited to see Seta's email- a new chapter! We had thought we'd lost connections with Seta or something. Well, the new chapter is here and the update is awesome. Some nice Maximoff (re)-bonding and some... well, we can't tell you, it'd ruin the surprise. One thing we would like to mention is that we've taken liberties with the whole asylum scene we saw with Pietro and Wanda in the Hex Factor episode- they looked much younger in it, but we've made it so that it had happened only two years before this story. Just in case anyone gets confused by the discontinuity.  
Now, to Seta Kaede, who we're sure will explain her lateness (proceeds to turn mic over to Seta to avoid having to answer questions on lateness, though they're well aware of their own often-late updates).

Seta Kaede:  
(sighs taking the mike) okay people so here is another chapter; I kinda stopped writing fanfiction for awhile, on all my stories; but I just recently got back into it and this was the result, any future lateness can not be blamed on me! And I am looking forward to where we are going to take the next chapter, just don't wait as long as I did girls! When I rediscovered this chapter I was in shock because it is perhaps one of my favorite chapters that I have done yet, the whole Pietro/Wanda, and I don't mean in a romantic way, yuck. Anyway please read and review!

* * *

Review Responses (from Life-of-L.A. & Silverwolf):

WickedWitch: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Yes, the Brotherhood does rock! Thanks, we shall try. It's been 8 months since your review, and we'd like to blame Seta Kaede for the lateness. Just kidding. Really, we can't complain, since the chapter's this good and we were late on our previous turns too. Hope you're still reading!

delinquent in MASSIVE training: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Nice name. Um... we're seven months late, but we did update? Hope we didn't lose your interest, but this is an exciting chapter, so maybe it'll perk up some of the possibly-lost interest. Hope you like the new chapter!

Phire: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Eh, yes, translations. For this Life-of-L.A. will say that Silverwolf does our Spanish stuff, and that she is very fond of the language but hates direct translations and will often not bother with it (not just Spanish, the rest of her five languages as well). So, sorry if it bothered you or made the guys' intelligence decrease in appearance, but we can't guarantee direct translations in the future either. Silverwolf likes writing whatever carries the meaning and has 'nice' syllables in total. Or something. She says. Anyhow, that subject done with, we hope you're still interested after the gap in updating and if so (hopefully), enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 4. Reconnections of all Sorts**

Lance woke quickly leaving his eyes closed to take in the area around him. The fire crackled, obviously someone had built it up the night before- must have been Wanda. The air was crisp heading towards cold and he knew that Pietro would be able to give them more details once he awoke.

Opening his eyes he noticed that he was the first one awake; directly next to him Tabby was curled up, trying to obviously contain body heat. She would probably be the next one awake.

On the other side of him he saw that Pietro and Todd had curled together in the night, ever since they had started the training sessions with Magneto the two younger mutants had only gotten more dependent on each other. Todd's hands were curled in Pietro's shirt and Pietro had pulled the younger mutant as close to him as possible.

They were secure; neither of them had ever had someone that they could simply be protected with, feel safe curling next to sleep and allow themselves to be vulnerable. Lance smiled sadly as he looked at the two- there was probably no one else in the world that those two would trust that much ever again.

Finally his eyes fell on their newest addition, Wanda Maximoff was leaning against one of the tree trunks towards the edge of camp. She was close enough to be kept warm by the fire but far enough that she would not unconsciously curl up with on one of them.

He sighed, feeling her mind working even from that distance away, there was a distinct difference in someone's mind when they were awake rather then sleeping. Lance could almost always tell now, even without having to try and tax his powers.

She appeared to be sleeping but Lance knew better and he walked over sitting on the ground next to her, "Pretending to be asleep won't really work on me; do you want to talk?"

Wanda opened her eyes looking at him quizzically, before asking him straight out, "Why did you get me out?"

It was a question that had been troubling her nearly all night and she truly wanted an answer for it. There seemed to be no logical reason why these four would come here to get her.

Pietro she could possibly understand but he had abandoned her there two years before, so why was he back? These others had no connection to her at all, and no reason to risk themselves, simply to get her out.

Lance sighed, looking at the sky and giving her the truthful answer, "Because Pietro wanted us to."

A sharp glance confronted Lance when he looked back down, "You mean to tell me that you risked your necks because Pietro wanted me back?"" Her voice took on increasing levels of incredulity as she finished the statement.

She had never been a part of a real family, and the concept of doing something risky or dangerous simply because it was important to someone else was completely foreign. Wanda felt a small tug of jealously deep in her heart at how obviously close they were to each other.

The response was a simple nod, "He's part of the Brotherhood, part of our family, and, by extension, you as well. Not to mention he didn't tell us where we were going until we got here."

Wanda smirked slightly at the last part of the statement; it was just like her bro to do that- definitely cut down on any of the possible questions that could have arisen. "You trusted him enough to simply follow? Not to force an answer or decide you were traveling a different direction?"

"He wouldn't have told us," said Lance simply, "It wouldn't have mattered, what we did. Sure we could of forced the issue but the last thing any of us need, especially those two," he gestured towards Todd and Pietro, "is more strain. Sure, it took us squashing our curiosity, but after everything else, that really was so little to ask."

Wanda looked more closely at the slightly older teen, seeing the dark circles still under his eyes and the exhaustion lines on his face; whatever he had done yesterday had definitely taken more out of him then he had acknowledged previously. "What exactly did you do yesterday- I mean there''s no way your mutation should take that much out of you just for using it."

Pietro stepped out of the shadow of the tree next to him; Lance looked up surprised he hadn't noticed the other teen awakening, "That's where daddy dearest comes in," he spat, viciously tugging down the collar of his shirt slightly, the metal circlet visible above it. "He fucked with our powers, and then put them on a leash. We nearly can't use them at all with this fuckin' collar on, at least the ones that are not intrinsic to the body."

Sitting down he fidgeted nervously looking at Lance; the other teen saw the look and nodded standing, "I better head back and get Tabby and Todd up, it's about time we started moving again, being in one place for too long is a bad idea at the moment."

Lance moved off, leaving the two twins sitting next to one another on the soft grass. Pietro was the first to speak, his voice soft and firm with conviction, "Please just listen to me Wan'."

Wanda looked up as Pietro used her old nickname from when they were much younger; they had lost it among so many other things as they grew older. "You can hex me after I'm done okay?"

Getting a quick nod from his sister Pietro relaxed slightly. "God, I've missed you Wan', you have no idea how many times I've wanted to come and get you, take you away." He laughed bitterly as his voice rang harsh, "I was weak, I couldn't stand up to Magneto and you suffered, I tried so hard to stay strong, to keep going, but he won."

A few tears ran down his face as he looked at his sister, "I'm so sorry, please forgive me, I know I don't deserve it, but I love you Wan'."

Wanda looked at Pietro seeing the agony in his face and recalling the blank look in his eyes as she had been dragged away. Tears were running down his face and however much she may have wanted to hate him, she couldn't. He was still her brother, her twin, the light to her dark.

She looked up a few tears in her own eyes as she embraced him, whispering in his ear, "I missed you 'Tro."

They weren't perfect, not by a long shot, but the simple hug went a long way towards healing wounds that had been open for far too long. Standing the two walked back to camp watching Lance scatter the ashes of the fire while Tabby gently shook Todd awake and started packing their bags.

The three other teens looked up at seeing the twins walk out from the trees. Tabby gave them a small smile, seeing some of the weight lifted off Pietro's shoulders as he looked at his sister. It was intriguing to look at, they were two sides of a coin- Wanda with her dark blue eyes and black hair and Pietro with his stark white blond and bright blue eyes.

There was a tenuous bond- Lance could feel it as he looked at the two, the kind that could grow with care. It made his lips twitch up slightly as he looked at them; he hoped that they could repair what Magneto had destroyed. They were going to need each other in the coming weeks and months, especially if they didn't manage to reach the coast.

Together they headed back to the main road venturing through the dark woods around them. For a long while they traveled in comfortable silence, but it was eventually broken. Pietro winked at Wanda, and stepping up behind Lance, he quickly blew a light breath of air over his neck, laughing when the older teen jumped.

After the tension was broken, the five teens tried to get to know their newest addition better, their eyes widening when they heard she knew Xavier; hell, that he was a frequent visitor into her head. They watched as she tried to demonstrate her powers, seeing the need for control in her movements, her emotions.

Lance had already started to plan what she would need to know when he stopped, suddenly halting the others with a lift of his hand, scanning the area around them carefully. He gestured at Todd who used his more developed eyes to peer into the darkness, nodding in the direction of the woods to their right.

Slowly the four teens started to move left until a figure appeared from the wood, the figure shifted from that of a wolf to slowly become a white clad Mystique; Lance backed up standing in front of the others as she smirked approaching them. Her smirk temporarily disappeared as she looked at the three boys and the girl who had been living with them.

Suddenly, she noticed Wanda and turned her attention, "Now who have you three managed to pick up on your little travels, hmmmm."

Lance felt both Todd and Pietro shudder behind him, the voice contained shades of Magneto, the threat of menace threaded underneath the words. Lance withheld a wince as he glared at her, "What do you want, Mystique?"

Tapping her foot she looked at him snorting slightly, "What do you think I want; to defeat the X-men, get stronger, create…"

Tabby cut her off harshly before she could finish the sentence, "-create a new world, blah, blah, blah. We've heard this shit before, and it rang as the same hypocritical crap from an egomaniac with dreams of godhood."

Mystique blinked, looking closer at the four teens. They had changed from last time she had been in town. There were the obvious changes, the more obvious muscles and outfits. But there were also some more subtle changes. Each of their bodies were much more tension filled and there weren't any smart aleck remarks filling the air, as they stood there they were deadly silent.

One eyebrow rose as she noticed a rather large absence, "Where is Blob? Stuffing his face?" She asked, a sneer on her face. Almost immediately she caught the flash of pain before cold masks fell over their face.

"As if you don't know. He's dead." Spat Todd, stepping out slightly from behind Lance.

"I'm sure you enjoyed it, watching him scream in pain until his brain couldn't take it anymore and he turned his hands on himself," Pietro hissed, stepping further out, making them all remember the brutal video they had seen of Fred's death. He looked at her, explaining exactly what he remembered.

_Flashback_

_Pietro watched from the corner of the room in horror hearing the screams of pain from Fred as objects flew wildly around the room. This wasn't supposed to happen, he was supposed to have telekinesis and the beams from the goody goodie's brother._

_The red beams appeared striking out at random, Pietro crouched lower as Magneto watched from the outside smirking darkly, watching as the various objects exploded or burst apart uncontrollably._

_"Father! Please help him!" begged Pietro approaching his father watching the wailing figure on the floor below him. Whirling around Magneto delivered a stinging backhand to his face, sending him to the floor. "What have I told you, you are never to call me that!"_

_Turning back he smirked again, "If he survives his powers will be well worth any discomfort this may cause, and if he doesn't, no great loss." Magneto chuckled darkly as Sabertooth slunk into the room._

_Grabbing Pietro by the back of the neck, he dragged him out, but not before Pietro saw Fred take his hands and turn them to his own chest, the red beams cutting through him. A look of peace passed over his face before his eyes closed, his body slumping to the ground._

_Reaching up, Magneto popped two tapes out of the camera above him that had recorded the whole thing. He tossed one to Sabertooth, "Give that to the rest of them." He sneered at Pietro, clearly indicating whom he meant._

_Pietro felt himself being dragged out of the room; looking down the last thing he saw was Fred's limp body with a slowly growing red pool underneath him._

_End Flashback_

Pietro let loose one harsh sob before Tabby pulled him back wrapping her arms around his neck, glaring at Mystique over his shoulder, "Satisfied now, you blue bitch?"

The older mutant stepped back, her eyes glancing back and forth between the teenagers, her mouth slightly gaping open.

Lance stepped forward, his eyes darkening as he glared at the older woman, touching the collar around his neck. "So we left. We're nearly normal stuck in these metal collars, like slaves to Magneto," his eyes softened slightly, noticing that Mystique really hadn't known. "Please leave Mystique- you didn't see us, Wanda was already gone, please, just leave."

Turning, they watched her start to move away quickly; they left in the opposite direction, headed quickly to the road, wanting to put as much distance between themselves and any possible data given to Magneto by Mystique.

* * *

Mystique's POV

I felt myself stumbling as I hurried from the forest. What the hell had just happened? I had thought I would just show up and see the same four teenagers I had months ago, but... they were different.

Lance's eyes were so cold, hard as rock, and Pietro was so thin, it was like the next stiff wind would blow him away. Todd was tiny; he was stronger but it was a brittle strength that would crack at the slightest pressure.

This was the first actual meeting I had ever had with the girl, Tabby. I believe and the same strength and coldness I had seen in Lance showed through in her eyes. Her body was held tense and the hand held at her throat had caught my attention because of the black glove that covered it.

Oh God! Their throats! That was no fashion accessory she was wearing…that all four of them had been wearing. Searching back through my memories to where I had seen them before, it hit me hard- they were the inhibiting collars that the Acolytes had stolen the plans for.

Magneto had made them helpless, twisted them and left no line of defense- what the fuck had happened to the teenagers I had left! Were they even still in the coarse and thick shells that I had just seen, or were they gone? I can still hear Lance's words echoing in my mind- "slaves to Magneto"; what else had they had to do, what had they lost in the process?

My thoughts invariably turned to the fact that they had gained new powers... powers that had been stolen from the X-men. I had heard of the reckoning that had occurred at the evolution of Grey's powers- Xavier may have tried to hide the information but students still talk, and I had simply listened closely.

To think that Fred had gone through that, in combination with a power like that of Cyclops's brother was... frightening in the very least. Shaking off the thoughts, my lips narrowed as I turned, heading back to the direction of my transportation. I was getting answers, and there was only one place I could get them- from the Acolytes.

Sitting back in the limo I ordered the driver to head to the base, planning on "discussing" this turn of events with the acolytes. If they hadn't known I would inform them. If they had….

End POV

* * *

If there had been another person in the back of the limo, h/she would have trembled at the slow sinister smile that crept across Mystique's face as the limo pulled away from the wooded area.

* * *


	5. Being a part of something

-Life-of-L.A. & Silverwolf-  
We were actually pretty fast with this update, weren't we? And in this chapter, we have a relatively happy Brotherhood- for once! Poor guys needed a break.

-Seta Kaede-  
Jeez you two just make me look bad! Alright I promise to be faster on the next update, definitely a rockin' chapter. Onto reviewer reviews (there's a tongue twister):

MeLaiya: Thanks for not losing us! I hope you'll keep reading! Hopefully you haven't died yet or you will miss this chapter.

LostAngel2: Your wish is my command; here is the next chapter and thanx for the review!

crazy-lil-nae-nae: Please keep reading and tell us what you think!

Karai & Renet: Sorry about the long wait on the last chapter; here is chapter 5 for you!

* * *

**Chapter 5. Being a part of something.**

"I'm baaack!" Pietro proclaimed proudly, walking out of the bathroom with the bottle of gel in hand. A rare, fleeting smirk found its way back to him as he joined the waiting Lance and Todd, his hair now back in what had become his signature style.  
"Tabby's turn with the hair gel... where'd she go?"

"She's helping Wanda with the new clothes and stuff," Lance informed, a small grin on his face at seeing Pietro better than he had seen in months. His reunion with his twin sister had done Pietro wonders to marvel at. Some of his confidence had returned, as well as his sly but playful joking mannerisms. Even Todd, Tabby and himself had benefited from this, feeling a little lighter themselves at seeing Pietro in decidedly better conditions. Wanda herself had been trying hard to reconnect with him, as well as start connecting with the rest of them. And if Lance wasn't completely mistaken, she was finding it easier than she had expected. Indeed, the newest to the group was fitting rather well into their formation already.  
Now the girl was in the girls' bathroom to don the new outfit she and Tabitha had selected from the nearby store, with Tabitha to help; after all, Wanda's previous outfit had been almost as out-of-place in the streets as their uniforms had been.

"Introducing the beautiful and powerful Wanda Maximoff!" Tabitha declared with a grin as she emerged from the bathroom, leading a hesitant Wanda out by the hand. She was now clad in a black tank top with pants of the same colour, a red belt, and a red trench coat. A pair of simple black boots and black earrings with stones of scarlet completed the ensemble.

"...Wanda," Pietro breathed, surprise on his face- but, for the first time in months, it was of the pleasant sort. "You look... so... right."

Wanda shuffled her feet, uncharacteristically nervous. "You-You think so?"

"You look great," Todd supplied, as it seemed the middle brother of the family was lacking in adjectives at the moment.

"You don't think the hair's... messy?" Wanda fingered the fine black strands, and it was then that Lance realized that even her hair looked different. Most noticeable of the changes was that the bottom half of the almost-reaching-shoulders-length had been dyed.  
But Lance noticed something else, something few would know to notice- her hair definitely looked glossier- healthier. In fact, Wanda's general appearance looked clearer and less mal-nourished. His eyes fell on the girl standing next to the raven-haired one, but the blond responsible didn't give him a chance to catch her eye.

"It looks perfectly fine! I'm telling you, the dye worked out well. And I can too work with hair and scissors; I trimmed out all the messiness- I did! Girl, you're a heartbreaker," Tabitha replied. "Now for the finishing touch- tada!" Her gloved hands held up a necklace, and without giving the girl a chance to respond, she had fastened the necklace around her neck. It was a black choker of velvet, with a simple but beautiful crimson gem falling from the middle. A silver rim adorned the gem, shimmering lightly.  
"Perfect or what?" Tabitha grinned.

They had to agree.

* * *

They were on the bus now, all crammed into the back seat, the last row of five.

Pietro, uncomfortable in enclosed space, had taken the window seat, needing the view outside, and Wanda- now also calling herself 'Hex', as she had felt a bit left out at the lack of a codename, despite all their assurances that it really wasn't necessary to have one- had seated next to him. In the other window seat Todd sat, leaning into Tabitha, who had an arm around him. Sitting in the middle, Lance saw that the he was fast asleep, as were the Maximoff twins.

"Tabby, you feeling all right?" he asked, his voice slightly lowered, both to keep from waking their friends, and to keep from anyone overhearing their conversation, though the bus had few other passengers, and most were sitting up front.

"Hm? Yeah- you?"

"Could be better," Lance admitted. "But not as bad as I could be."

She offered him a small smile of not only sympathy, but also empathy. "I know. This-," she fingered the metal collar on her with her free hand, "-bothering you too?"

"It's not terribly comfortable. But I'm more worried about you."

She raised an eyebrow at that. "I know that you have a hangover from yesterday's power overuse too, but I think you're worse off than I am, so don't worry about me, okay?"

"Well I can't help it," Lance murmured. "Besides, you used your powers again today- and may I mention that we've been almost completely cut off all day, which makes me completely lost as to how you even managed so much?"

"I did n-" Blue eyes faltered at the steady gaze of the deep brown, and she sighed. "Fine, Mr. Omniscience. I did. But she needed it, Lance," another sigh left her. "She's been so... trapped. She's never been out in the world before. She needed a little shopping and some pretty jewelry. The kind of stuff you expect to do as a teenager, as you're growing up. It made her feel more... normal. You know?"

"Yeah... yeah, I know," Lance sighed. "But you shouldn't have used your powers-"

"My powers can recharge. She just needed a little health boost. Besides, I'm used to feeling out of power, and she's not. Don't worry about it, all right Lance?"

"Only if you stop doing that," he replied with a half-grin, catching her hand from his shoulder and putting it down.

"Pardon?" she grinned, knowing he knew, but playing the game for laughs.

"Miss Tabitha Smith, I do not need a 'health boost'," he stated. "So please stop slowing the decimation of my physical particles, and go to sleep now, so I can take first watch."

"Oh fine. You sure you don't want me to take first watch? Not that many people here."

"Oh no you don't. I'm taking first watch, and you are going to get some rest, whether you want it or not."

"Wake me in half an hour, okay?" she smiled, knowing that he was too stubborn to change his mind and also knowing that he knew she was too stubborn to not wake her after the designated time.

* * *

"You sure this is a good idea?" Wanda asked for the third time, still uncertain.

"Yeah, it'll be fine. Don't worry," Tabitha replied nonchalantly.

"We've done this a million times," Pietro assured.

"But... it's... stealing," Wanda stated hesitantly.

"...Yes. But we don't really have a choice right now," Lance replied.

"And we need to get a room for the night," Todd added.

"Definitely- storm's coming," Pietro nodded. "I can feel it without even concentrating. Big storm."

"You don't have to do it- 'Tro and I can go," Tabitha continued. "You can stay with Lance and Todd. Pietro and I usually do it anyhow. You guys can go get some food with the money we do have."

"Yeah- Wanda, you must be really hungry- sorry about that. We're more or less used to one meal a day now," Lance sighed apologetically. "And you haven't had anything since those two sandwiches we split back around noon."

"No, it's okay, I wasn't really thinking about food today," Wanda replied, a little taken aback at the statement that they were used to one meal a day. She was kind of hungry, but it was true that she hadn't been thinking about eating all day. Her mind had been much too preoccupied with other things to think of food.

"Still, we all need dinner. You guys can go get some food for all of us and we'll meet back here, how's that," Tabitha suggested.

"Sounds good. Half an hour all right?" Lance looked at the two as they started walking off.

"Got it," Pietro nodded. He gave an encouraging look to Wanda, and a brief one to Lance before they left. To be quite frank, Pietro was a little worried about leaving Wanda behind- not because he didn't trust Lance and Todd to take care of her, but because, well, it was separation anxiety.

He had been away from her so long that it bothered him to leave her for even the half hour.

"C'mon Pietro, don't want to make them wait later. And we need this- I don't think it'll be a good idea to stay out for the night for a while, at least not until Wanda's more used to this."

He nodded. It was definitely true- Wanda had been locked up, yes, but that also meant that she had relatively sheltered living conditions- in the physical sense, and also, she had been kept from the rest of the world. It would do little good to expose her to the outside world suddenly and without warning. He wished they could have been in better situations, so that Wanda would have an easier time adjusting- not running, for one- but that couldn't be helped.

* * *

"So, Wanda, what do you want to eat?" Lance asked as they walked.

"I don't care," she replied.

"You sure?" Lance repeated.

"I guess," Wanda shrugged. "What do you usually eat."

"Usually we just eat anything," Todd replied. "But it's the first time we're eating dinner with you- it should be special," he stated.

"Yeah- can't you think of something you want to eat? This dinner is to celebrate your joining, and it would be better if we got some food that you like," Lance agreed.

"Well... um..." Wanda hesitated. She wasn't sure what to make of this situation. She had never been a part of something before, and the idea of celebrating the joining of one had not occurred to her. Nor did she think that they had much money to use, and she felt uncomfortable at the thought that they would have to steal more just to get some food for the evening. But on the other hand, being part of something... it felt kind of nice. And she kind of liked it, being welcomed into the group.  
"Anything is fine, really. So long as we have enough for everyone."

* * *

Getting a room had been significantly easier than two nights earlier. Indeed, this time, they had not needed to pretend to be a country band.

It had likely been due to the fact that now they were dressed in normal, society-accepted clothes, and did not stand out as anything more than a bunch of teens on a road trip.

In any case, they had relatively clean and safe lodgings for the night and some dinner. They had made some progress with the 'road trip', on the boarders of New York now. All in all, it hadn't been a bad day at all.

"We have soda? Soda?" Pietro's voice did not hide the surprise and excitement, as he continued to take out their dinner from the paper bags.

"Well, special occasion," Lance replied with a grin at Wanda, who was sitting on the bed.

"And you got me pineapple! My favorite."

"We haven't had soda in a while," Todd whispered to Wanda, next to her. "And Pietro loves soda."

"It's like giving candy to a baby. Or, as the case is, giving candy to Pietro," Tabitha supplied as she handed each a plate of food, taking a seat on the bed as well. "Hey, orange soda! Nice."

"And lime for Todd, cheery cola for Wanda, and regular cola for me," Lance finished. "Can we eat now?" he chuckled, handing them out before taking a seat on the couch, the last piece of furniture in the room.

"Yes, yes, don't let my admiring of the soft drinks keep you waiting," Pietro joked as he sat down next to Lance.

"Don't worry, we won't," Tabitha chuckled, taking a bite as she spoke.

"Yeah, it's not like-" Lance stopped short, suddenly very aware of some people outside their door. Hesitantly, Lance got up and headed for the door, signaling for them to be silent and ready. Nodding, the three more battle-experienced of the remaining got up, Pietro moving to stand next to the rest while Tabby shielded both Todd and an uncertain Wanda. But before Lance even had a chance to reach the door, it burst open.

Lance immediately backed away at seeing whothe ones responsible were.  
"**Fuck**."


End file.
